


You Never Can Tell

by leia_scott



Category: Metal Gear
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Kaz is nice for once, One Shot, Romantic Fluff, Valentine's Day, this is so fluffy it almost hurt to write
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-09-24 12:42:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9727349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leia_scott/pseuds/leia_scott
Summary: Valentine’s Day 1985. Everything’s set in motion; Emma is training with B Unit off-base, and Kaz has ample time to put his plans for a wonderful evening into motion… Until those plans start falling apart at the seams one by one. He struggles to retain control over the situation as Emma’s ETA back at Mother Base draws ever closer and his own time for hasty re-planning begins to run out.(Just a silly, fluffy one-shot to go with a picture I drew)





	

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, this is SO much fluffier and more plotless than my usual work, so be warned, but I wanted to write something quick based off of the Valentine's Day picture I drew. 
> 
> Emma Ross is my OC and you can find more about her in my other works and on my blog, kazuhiradarling.tumblr.com!

_February 14th, 1985. Seychelles Waters._

_06:00_

 

        Kaz had woken up with a surprising sense of rejuvenation that morning. It wasn’t at all like him. He knew he could attribute a great deal of it to the fact that Emma had woken him up with a steaming cup of coffee and a tender kiss on the cheek, her youthful face framed by messy auburn curls as she sipped her own coffee with a smile. It could have also been due to how she had subsequently whispered her plans for that evening into his ear, sending shivers up his spine and forcing him to concentrate a little harder than usual on suppressing an unexpected erection. There was time enough for that later.  
        No, Kaz was acutely aware of why he had waken up with a childlike excitement on that particular morning, and it wasn’t just the kiss or the coffee or the promises of total submission to his desires. It was because Emma had no idea what he had in store for her.  
        The radio blared away on the dresser, Chuck Berry’s “You Never Can Tell” filling the open space of Kaz’s quarters like the warm ocean breeze that came in through the open window. It brought him back to their days in Africa when he would sweep her into a dance as the same lyrics met their ears, their carefree laughs rising gently through the hot night air towards the stars that they swayed under. He longed to do the same right now, to take her hand and twirl her about in the same fashion, but there was the unspoken issue of his balance, or lack thereof, that came with the loss of his arm and leg.  
        And so he sat there quietly in bed, sipping his coffee and watching her dance about on her own as she got dressed, wiggling her ass in time with the music as she pulled on her trousers. There was something so wonderfully satisfying about seeing her so oblivious. He held back an uncharacteristic chuckle and threw his legs over the side of the bed, pulling on his prosthetic.  
        “I think we’ll be back around six or so,” Emma said absent-mindedly, shrugging on her shirt and tucking it into her waistband.  
        “Mhm.” Kaz couldn’t help but smile. He was the one that had arranged for B Unit to be off-base today in the first place. After all, he couldn’t have her meddling around in his preparations.  
        “Probably just jump training all day, I’m sure of it.” She made a disgusted noise and finished pulling her hair into a ponytail before turning to him, eyebrow raised. “Whose idea, I wonder…”  
        Kaz shrugged and pulled on his own trousers. “I have no control over mandatory unit training. Go cry to Ocelot about it.”  
        Emma scoffed and took her harness, sliding it on over her shoulders and buckling it securely around her waist. She turned back to him with a renewed smile, slowly making her way over to him. _“Listen.”_ She slid her hands lightly up his chest and around his shoulders, running them gently over his scars as she closed the distance between them. The cold metal buckles of her harness caused goosebumps to crop up along his bare skin and he shivered not only from the chill of the metal against his skin, but also from the way her voice dropped into a velvety low register. “Try to have a good day, will you?”  
        “I’ll certainly- ah!” His breath hitched in his throat as her hand slid under his waistband. He caught her wrist before it could travel any further downwards. “Oh _no_ you don’t. You’re _not_ leaving me like this.” he growled, tugging it back out again.  
        “It was worth a try.” She stood on her toes and pressed her lips to his, and he reciprocated the favor by opening the kiss and tilting her chin upwards with his thumb and forefinger. It was a challenge to keep himself from getting carried away, but he could tell that she was already flustered enough as it were by the way she faltered under his touch ever so slightly. He pulled away and gave her rear a gentle smack.  
        “Now scram, kid.”  
        She laughed and rubbed her reddening cheeks, obviously caught off-guard by his uncharacteristically cheerful behavior. “Jesus christ… Alright then, Casanova.”  
        And with that she made her way to the door, taking one look back at him with a raised eyebrow before heading out.  
        Kaz turned back to the task at hand, pulling on his shirt and buttoning it up, surprised to find himself humming along with the music. Nothing could bring him down from the high he was on. For the first time in what seemed like an eternity, he found himself filled with pure excitement. It would be everything she deserved, the Valentine’s Day he had neglected to give her for the past few years. It had been a tough and trying year for both of them, but they had come out relatively unscathed and, most importantly, _together_. He knew the smile on her face would be worth every ounce of stress he had spent meticulously planning this very evening.  
        _“You could see that Pierre did truly love the mademoiselle,”_ he sang, slightly off-key but with blissful confidence. He would give her the world if he could, but he would settle comfortably for the evening they had in store.

 

_09:00_

 

        _“What?”_ Kaz cleared his throat as several recruits looked up from their work, shocked by the sudden outburst. Kaz pinched the bridge of his nose and gripped the receiver tighter, turning towards the hallway and heading into it as far as the phone’s cord would allow. “What?” he said, somewhat more quietly.  
        _“I’m sorry, sir, the requisitions went through a jumble this past week with our new developments. If you want I can get another one written up for you-”_  
        “And how long will that take?” Kaz tried not to let the worry and frustration become apparent in his voice as he spoke quietly into the receiver.  
      _“Eh, a couple of days, give or take.”_  
        Kaz huffed, tempted to let loose a few profanities into the receiver but ultimately deciding not to. “I’ve-” He took a moment to collect himself before continuing. “I’ve had that requisition in there for the past month. And you’re telling me it disappeared into thin air?”  
        _“Well, sir, from the records I have in front of me I can tell you that it wasn’t evaluated to have a high priority-”_  
        “It came straight from me! _Of course_ it had a high priority!” Kaz had to lower his voice once more. “Listen. Do we have an R &D team on the island right now?”  
        _“Yes, sir.”_  
        “Tell them they can expect a call from me.”  
      _“Yes, sir.”_  
        Kaz hung the phone back up and cursed quietly. One bouquet. He had specifically asked for one _dozen_ , and yet somehow only _one_ had made it back from the Seychelles.  
        He sighed and shook his head. They were just flowers. He wasn’t going to let something like this be the rain on his parade. He shook back his sleeve and glanced down at his watch. He could put off paperwork for another hour or so, and in that time he figured that he could head down to R &D to see what they had gotten in their last shipment.  
        “One _fucking_ bouquet,” he grumbled, pushing open the door and making his way down the stairs.  
        The sun beat down upon the black asphalt unforgivingly, causing heat waves to rise up from it and warp the figure standing at the foot of the stairs.  
        “Hawk!” Kaz called, and the figure looked up.  
        “Yes sir!”  
        “Get the jeep ready.” He carefully picked his way down the stairs one at a time with increased effort as he fought the pain spidering up from his bad leg, the heat and his exertion already causing beads of sweat to rise from his skin. Within a few moments came the sound of a jeep starting up, and by the time Kaz made it to the bottom of the steps Hawk had already pulled the jeep around. “R &D,” Kaz said, struggling to catch his breath. The jeep pulled away from the comms building and began to head in the direction of the R&D platform. Kaz closed his eyes as the breeze tossed his hair, providing some temporary relief from the dry heat of the sun.  
        “Anything planned for Valentine’s Day, sir?” Hawk spoke up cheerfully, tapping his hands on the steering wheel to the beat of the music that came through the stereo.  
        “Eh…” Kaz trailed off, still distracted by the slight kink in his plans. “You could say so.”  
        “Glad to hear it, sir!” Hawk said, and he really did seem genuinely glad. Kaz had taken a liking to the young recruit; despite being B Unit’s medic, Hawk was Kaz’s preferred bodyguard. Always attentive, despite being somewhat chatty, and he had a real dedication to the Commander. Kaz figured he knew more about his personal life than the majority of the other recruits.  
        “Thanks, Hawk.” Kaz looked out over the ocean, the sunlight skimming the tops of the waves with an almost blinding light. Suddenly he wished Emma could stay gone a little longer, at least until he could get everything sorted out.  
        They reached the R&D platform and Hawk followed him inside, taking off his balaclava to let the cool AC wash over his face. The recruits clicked their heels together and saluted as Kaz pushed through the main doors. A group of men were hunched around a cluster of monitors in the center of the development room, and they quickly straightened up as Kaz entered.  
        “Sir!” One of them said, quickly making his way over to Kaz. “We, ah, weren’t expecting you.” Kaz looked around as recruits scrambled about in attempt to look busy.  
        “I can see that,” Kaz said slowly. He turned back towards the recruit and nodded in the direction of the monitor. “Show me what you got in your shipment this morning.”  
        The recruit seemed to struggle with words for a moment. “The, ah, the flowers?” Kaz sighed and peered over his glasses at him. “Well, sir, they're in cold storage at the moment. It could take a while to get over and pull them back out again.”  
        “I can wait.”  
        “Yes, sir,” the recruit said somewhat defeatedly, motioning over to a few chairs that lined the wall. “You can have a seat if you like.”  
        Kaz sank down into one of the chairs in a huff, the hard plastic of it not doing any wonders for his aching back whatsoever. Hawk took a seat beside him and began to tap his foot absent-mindedly. Kaz took notice and raised an eyebrow.  
        “Something on your mind, Hawk?”  
        Hawk suddenly became aware of his tapping and stopped, laughing quietly. “No, sir. Just a bad habit.”  
         Kaz turned his attention to the other recruits mulling about in the development room, pushing crates back and forth, some of them talking quietly amongst themselves. Blueprints were scattered across tabletops, in somewhat more of a state of disarray since the last time he had been here. Somewhere from within the large room a phone began to ring, its incessant peal echoing throughout the room until someone finally answered it.  
        Kaz’s mind raced as he attempted to mentally work his evening around the absence of the flowers. The flowers hadn’t seemed so detrimental until this very moment. Emma loved flowers, and she never got to see enough of them on base. It was a gesture that he wanted to seem casual, despite the fact that these specific roses were hard to come by, even back in the Seychelles. They had to be ordered weeks in advance, which was precisely what he had done. And now here he was, waiting for one measly bouquet to be brought out before him. Kaz turned to Hawk.  
        “Listen, if the flowers don’t work out, don’t mention anything to Captain Ross. I don’t want her to think I was stressing myself out over a bunch of plants.”  
        “Not a word, sir.”  
        “Commander!” Kaz looked up to see another recruit approaching with a phone, his hand over the mouthpiece. He waited until he was close enough to continue. “It’s the mess hall. They said… they had to revoke your request…?” He shrugged, not quite sure what the message meant, but Kaz’s heart sunk. He snatched the phone from the recruit and held it to his ear.  
        “What the hell could possibly go wrong?”  
        There was a rush of static on the other end as the voice sighed. _“We’ve revoked personal requests under orders of the Boss. There was an incident in the mess hall the other day-”_  
        “An incident? What does this have to do with my fucking request?”  
        _“I’m sorry, sir, it’s just the Boss’s orders-”_  
        “Jesus christ.” Kaz looked up to see the head of the R &D division emerge from storage, a bouquet in hand. “Hold on,” Kaz spoke into the phone. “I’m coming down to the mess hall this afternoon. We’ll continue this conversation then.” He handed the phone back to the recruit and stood, heading over to the man with the bouquet. “What the hell is this?”  
        The man looked nervously down at the flowers he held. They were bruised and wilted, their petals dark and already fluttering to the floor. “Their shipment was delayed, sir. They’ve wilted a bit-”  
        “More than a bit,” Kaz said, taking a closer look. It was pathetic, really. But he had already given up hope on the flowers half an hour ago anyways. One rose caught his eye, its vibrant color and petals still intact. He pulled it gently from the bouquet. “Get me a glass of water,” he said quietly. A recruit disappeared into an adjacent room and reemerged a moment later with a tall glass filled halfway with water. Kaz slid the solitary rose into it and watched it for a moment. It spun slowly in the glass, seeming to dance for joy in its refreshing drink. Kaz pursed his lips and turned to Hawk.  
        “We’re taking it with us. Come on.”  
        Hawk took the glass from the recruit and followed back outside to the jeep. Kaz slid into the back seat, taking the glass back from Hawk. He wanted to get right to the bottom of whatever the issue at the mess hall was, but he knew that he needed to tackle at least some of his paperwork from Command first. After all, Diamond Dogs operations didn't stop just because a few roses wilted. He had work to do.  
        He looked at his watch. He was already behind, anyways.  
        “Command, Hawk.”  
        “Yes, sir.”

_14:00_

 

        The very beginning of a migraine was starting to hinder Kaz’s concentration, and he set down his pen for a moment for a break. Despite the amount of paperwork he still had left to sift through, the only thing that occupied his mind was how his evening was starting to fall apart at the seams. All of this planning he had done for Emma's sake, and what did he have to show for it? He looked up at the rose that sat on his desk before him, its petals waving slightly under the blast of the cool air conditioning. Not very much.  
        “Hawk,” he called towards the door, and no sooner had the words left his mouth than the door opened and Hawk entered.  
        “Sir?”  
        “The jeep.”  
        “Yes, sir.”  
        Kaz collected his paperwork in a folder, leaving it at the edge of his desk. He had already handled everything detrimental to the day’s operations; he could leave the rest until he had sorted out everything at the mess hall.  
        He took his crutch and headed to the door, only to run straight into Ocelot.  
        “Important business to attend to?” Ocelot said, his eyes narrowing.  
        Kaz huffed and said nothing, pushing past him and heading out into the hall. To his great annoyance, Ocelot followed.  
        “Shirking your duties in the name of… whatever it is you’re doing-”  
        “I’m not shirking any duties.” Kaz said, wincing at the pain in his leg that had started to crop up again. “Don’t you have an ass to kiss?”  
        Ocelot chuckled and Kaz fought the urge to roll his eyes. “I’m just checking up on you, Miller. You know how much I care about your wellbeing. Your mental health.”  
        “Thanks,” Kaz scoffed bitterly, pushing through the Command building’s double doors. Hawk was already waiting in the jeep.  
        _“Miller.”_  
        Kaz stopped and turned back to face Ocelot, well aware that his annoyance was clear in his expression. “What.”  
        Ocelot placed a hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t you take the lull in your paperwork as a chance to relax for a bit? I’m sure whatever problem you’re facing will resolve itself.”  
        Kaz turned back to the jeep and slid into the back seat. “Not an option,” he said with finality. He turned his attention to Hawk. “Mess hall.”  
        Before Ocelot could retort they drove away, and he watched them go with arms crossed.  
        Kaz almost regretted not taking an opportunity to rest. His legs would thank him, that’s for sure. As would his back. But he had no time to rest. Not until everything was sorted out.  
        They reached the mess hall in good time, but the staff were being particularly difficult to deal with. Apparently the head of the mess hall was busy with “other things”, so Kaz and Hawk had been told, once more, to wait. And so they had waited, for twenty minutes at least, until a cook emerged from the kitchen, his apron covered in whatever mystery substance was served for lunch that day.  
        “Sorry about the wait, sir, we-”  
        Kaz gestured to a nearby chair. “Take a seat.”  
        The cook wrung his hands on the apron and pulled the chair over, slowly sitting down in front of Kaz.  
        “So what’s this about you not being able to fulfill the request?”  
        The recruit sighed. “There was an… _incident_ … in the mess hall last week. So the Boss revoked request privileges.”  
        “Do I look like any other staff member to you?”  
        The cook began to wring his hands again. “I’m sorry, sir. Those are just the orders.”  
        “All I asked for was a steak and some wine. You can’t do that?”  
        The cook shook his head and looked down at his lap.  
        Kaz sighed and rubbed his forehead slowly. He was far too tired to be angry. “Well... Do you at least have a dinner menu I could look at?”  
        “Yes, sir.” The cook pulled a folded piece of paper from his back pocket and handed it to Kaz.  
        Kaz skimmed over the words on the paper. “What is this?”  
        “We’re doing soul food tonight, sir.” He gestured to a chalk board in the corner of the mess hall. “Every month the boys vote for what kind of cuisine they want. So… tonight it’s soul food.”  
        Kaz mulled it over for a moment. Emma certainly _did_ like traditional southern food, but for a once-a-year romantic dinner? The steak he could have had was still at the back of his mind and he handed the paper back to the cook.  
        “Thanks,” he said defeatedly. “But I think I’ll have to pass.”  
        The cook slid the paper back into his pocket and rose. “I’m really sorry about all of this, sir. But you know how it is with the Boss’ orders-”  
        Kaz waved his hand and attempted a smile. “Don’t worry about it. Enjoy your soul food tonight.”  
        “Thanks, sir.” The cook headed back into the kitchen and Kaz leaned forward in his chair, resting his face in his hands.  
        _“Fuck,”_ he mumbled through his fingers. “It’s all ruined.”  
        And it was. Everything had fallen to pieces. First the flowers, now the dinner. There was nothing else to give her, nothing else to present her with. He knew she never expected anything but… he wanted to surprise her this year. He wanted it to be special. Sure, it was only a couple of flowers and a nice steak dinner, but it was better than nothing, which was what he was stuck with now. He sat there for what seemed like an eternity, wanting to stay in this moment of _between_ , not wanting to hear any more about those damn flowers or the dinner plans that fell through.  
        He looked at his watch. Emma would be back soon. He suddenly remembered the paperwork he had left unfinished back in his office, and he begrudgingly gave up all hope of turning his evening back around, opting to finish the paperwork instead.  
        He slowly rose, his back and legs aching. “Let’s go, Hawk,” he said quietly, and they both returned to the jeep in a state of defeat.

 

_18:00_

 

        Kaz had hoped to have his paperwork finished on time, but he had spent the majority of the last few hours of his day watching the rose on his desk with a vacant expression, almost expecting it to jump to life and chastise him for not thoroughly thinking through all of the ways his plans could have gone wrong. He couldn’t tell if it was taunting him or reassuring him at this point, each flutter of its petals a constant reminder of what had transpired that day. He wished he could go back to that morning, to tell Emma that he was sorry for having nothing planned, that their Valentine’s Day was going to be like last year, and the year before that. She wouldn’t have been disappointed. She was used to it at this point.  
        Seemingly on cue came a light knock on the door, and Kaz’s heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. He plucked the rose from the glass and slowly made his way to the door, straightening his tie and smoothing out his hair, quickly trying out apologies in his head before he said something stupid. He rested his hand on the doorknob, suddenly dreading what was to come with every fibre of his being.  
        He opened the door and there she was, her hair slightly wind-strewn but her eyes bright as she looked up at him with a smile.  
        “Kaz!”  
        He never felt the smile creep onto his face, but suddenly it was there. “Emma.” He held the rose out to her almost automatically. “Happy Valentine’s Day, kiddo.”  
        She looked down at the rose in surprise before gently taking it. “It’s… It’s a _Général Jaqueminot!_ Kaz… How did you remember?”  
        “Well, I guess I just-”  
        She didn’t wait for his explanation, almost knocking him backwards as she threw her arms about his shoulders, burying her face into his neck. “Oh, _Kaz_ …” she said quietly, tightening her hold on him. Kaz closed his eyes and pressed his cheek to the top of her head, feeling all of the day’s stresses suddenly disappear. Her hair smelled like lavender and the sea air, the two most comforting scents he could fathom.  
        “I’m sorry I couldn’t give you a better day,” he said quietly, running his hand through her hair.  
        She pulled away and looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears. “What are you talking about? Kaz… it couldn’t be better.”  
        He looked down on her with a bittersweet smile, tilting her chin upwards. “You flatter me _way_ too much,” he said, leaning down and kissing her sweetly. Kaz felt butterflies in his stomach as Emma reached up and brushed her hand along his cheek. She pulled away and smiled, looking back down at the rose in her hand.  
        “Thank you, Kaz.” A single tear slid down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away before he could take notice.  
        “Hey,” he said gently, wrapping his arm around her waist. “What do you say, ready to turn in for the night?”  
         “Am I _ever_.”  
        The sun had already dipped below the horizon by the time they started to head back to his quarters, stars already visible in the East where the sky was the darkest. She chatted about the events of the day, how well her unit had done in their training. Kaz decided not to tell her that they weren’t actually being tested; she spoke of her unit with such pride and Kaz couldn’t help but feel admiration surge through him as he got caught up in the stories she told, how her smile shone when she laughed. He was so distracted that he didn’t realize why she had stopped dead in her tracks until he looked up and noticed the pink and red lights strung between the buildings before them.  
        “Kaz!” She said, staring up in awe at the glistening lights. “You _didn’t…”_  
        _No, I didn’t,_ he wanted to say, but he, too, was too shocked by what he saw before him to say a word. “You Never Can Tell” blared through the PA, echoing across the platform and filling the warm night air with its nostalgic sound. A laugh rose from his chest quite unexpectedly, and then another. _Who the hell had the time to do this?_ A cluster of roses sat outside the entrance to his quarters, the soft light from the moon bouncing ever so gently from the petals. _Général Jaqueminot_. Emma turned to him with wide eyes.  
        “You did all of this?”  
        “I… uh… _I_ …”  
        She embraced him tightly and rested her head against his chest, rendered completely speechless. Kaz happened to look up at the building across from them and smiled when he saw what was suspended from it.  
        A large banner had been hung on the wall, covered in poorly-drawn hearts and a _“Happy Valentine’s Day, Commander Miller! -MB”_. His heart was filled with a sense of love, of gratitude, of pride…  
        He began to sway in time with the music and she looked up at him, a smile slowly forming on her lips as she recounted the same memory that was replaying in his own mind. The soft red lights washed over them as they danced together, lost in each other’s eyes and clinging to one another as if it were their last night on earth.  
        “I love you,” Kaz said quietly.  
        “I love you, too.”  
        He pulled her closer as the music played on, infusing them with the youth and carefree spirit of that summer in Rhodesia, that summer when they realized they could never go back. They would never go back.  
        So with their eyes forward, they danced on into the night.

 


End file.
